I have never understood the weeping and wailing when a celebrity dies, or why their deaths are supposed to have more value than anyone else's. Some are good people, some are freaks, some are plain worthless, but to cry over a celebrity? We have World War 2 veterans who are dropping like flies. These are the guys who put their butts on the line for the duration in most cases. Every time I talk to one at my job, I just want to reach through the phone and give them a hug and shake their hands. I have a hard time not crying when I realize these guys are in the upper 80's and some of them are living on less than I spend on groceries each month.

And all the other veterans who served to do what they thought was right, and those who still are. (Sorry, working with veterans has made me a bit protective of most of these folks.)

And there are incredibly noble people who pass away every day, but you don't see the world stop for them. The world slams to a halt to cram Anna Nicole Smith down your throat, but when the cop who saved a kid from harm gets shot, we forget about it two minutes later.

Michael Jackson had some good music and some cool videos, but compared to people who have more impact on my life, I could go the rest of my life and not think about his passing. As a person, he didn't matter beyond a few hours of entertainment. I feel bad for his kids maybe, but his family will continue to make a circus of his life because they can make money from it.

Maybe, but they could just as well not play his videos or music. When Caradine died, there wasn't a never ending thing on the news about it.

True. But Carridine wasn't a mega-star. Jackson was-the more coverage=the more ratings. I was very heart broke of the passing of Forrest J. Ackerman...but TV basically ignored it. Fandom provided almost the only coverage of his passing. Jackson was mega millions in life...and now in death. I think Javakoala hit the nail on the head, The Cult of Celebrity is fed by $$$.

EXAMPLE- Farrah. A brave woman who fought cancer for years. But no controversy. Controversy followed Jackson. It sold tabloids. Over 4000 serviceman have died in the Iraq conflict. 4000!!! Yet do we see tributes to them? Why? The Cult of Celebrity.Peopel live there lives vicarously through there heros. I'm guilty too. I think Lugosi is the coolest thing since sliced bread.

Maybe, but they could just as well not play his videos or music. When Caradine died, there wasn't a never ending thing on the news about it.

It's tough to explain auto erotic asphyxiation to the kids !

True. You don't wanna put that on Entertainment Tonight. Yet the fawning over this scumbag makes me sick. Will they praise Gary Glitter when he dies? I don't think so. He wasn't a $$$ machine for the tabloids.

I have seen a media reaction like this before, back in 1977 when Elvis Presley died. In fact that is the only celebrity who I can think of that happen to ever to achieve a similar level of fame world wide that Michael Jackson had.Back when Elvis died, there wasn't music videos or 24 hour news channels. If they had existed then, the same thing would of happened. I know most radio stations played a lot of Elvis music and a lot of his films were suddenly on television. So it's nothing new for some of us, just it's been 32 years since a person who had achieved this level of fame has died.Like him or hate him, you can't deny that Michael Jackson was a rare type of celebrity that seldom comes along. It doesn't excuse his excesses however.

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Movie Trivia Fact : O.J. Simpson was considered for the title role in The Terminator, but producers feared he was \"too nice\" to be taken seriously as a cold-blooded killer.<br />Isn\'t hindsight great.<br />A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. - Agent Kay - Men in Black

"Excuse his excesses"-- What are those?His known excesses, that he had roller coasters and liked to dress up like a Kim Jong Il in sequins?

Now the way it's supposed to work, is that you're innocent til proven guilty. Can anyone prove his guilt?

He also dangled his child over a balcony, was known prescription drug abuser in the past (and looks as if this contributed to his death), admitted to sleeping in the same bed with minors, and was millions in debt just to name a few. Excesses are not limited to criminal charges.

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Movie Trivia Fact : O.J. Simpson was considered for the title role in The Terminator, but producers feared he was \"too nice\" to be taken seriously as a cold-blooded killer.<br />Isn\'t hindsight great.<br />A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. - Agent Kay - Men in Black

He also dangled his child over a balcony, was known prescription drug abuser in the past (and looks as if this contributed to his death), admitted to sleeping in the same bed with minors, and was millions in debt just to name a few. Excesses are not limited to criminal charges.

There are many accounts by him and his PR about those events.So they're not really confirmed as things that marred his character.

Whatever you wanna do, I'm not going to jump to conclusions about his guilt.

"Excuse his excesses"-- What are those?His known excesses, that he had roller coasters and liked to dress up like a Kim Jong Il in sequins?

Now the way it's supposed to work, is that you're innocent til proven guilty. Can anyone prove his guilt?

I'm sure some could. But money bought them off. I ain't fooled. Anybody with one good eye (and I have two) could see he was a perv.

OK-my theroy.He got plastic surgery to look like Diana Ross. He loved her. Maybe he had sex with her,as a kid.Or Maybe he wished he did. He turned into Diana and did what he wished was done...or it was his way of reliving what was done. Just a theory.

He also dangled his child over a balcony, was known prescription drug abuser in the past (and looks as if this contributed to his death), admitted to sleeping in the same bed with minors, and was millions in debt just to name a few. Excesses are not limited to criminal charges.

There are many accounts by him and his PR about those events.So they're not really confirmed as things that marred his character.

Whatever you wanna do, I'm not going to jump to conclusions about his guilt.

When did I claim he was guilty of anything. Again, I point out that excesses cover a lot more than any criminal charges for which he was aquitted . And everything I pointed out has evidence that supports this. He did dangle his child over a balcony, he did state in an interview that he felt it was ok for him to share his bed with minors, he did admit to having a prescription drug problem in the past (which is being looked into as what caused his heart attack that resulted in his death as well as current prescriotion drug abuse), and his finacial records which have been released show he was at least 400 million dollars in debt. Behaviors like these are consider excesses. Sleeping in oxygen tanks, owning a personal amusement park, a personal zoo, and constantly having plastic surgery for years can also be considered excesses. Thinking he can act like he's still 11 in his behavior when he was 50 is an excess.

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Movie Trivia Fact : O.J. Simpson was considered for the title role in The Terminator, but producers feared he was \"too nice\" to be taken seriously as a cold-blooded killer.<br />Isn\'t hindsight great.<br />A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. - Agent Kay - Men in Black